Vehicles today are increasingly being equipped with a device for detecting the environment surrounding them. With such devices, the surroundings of the vehicle are detected via optical means, for example to identify permanently installed objects or objects in motion as obstacles when driving or parking. Monitoring a blind spot is another possible use for an environment detection device.
Document DE 10 2005 003 191 A1 describes a device for environment detection in detail. The device has a light source, a camera and an evaluation unit, and enables both obstacle detection and a detection of the distance to the obstacle. Among other things, the device can be used to illuminate a region rearward of the vehicle and then enable the acquisition of an image of the region rearward of the vehicle.
One use of an environment detection system is based on the need to detect obstacles when the vehicle is traveling in reverse. The area behind the vehicle is known to be illuminated when a reverse gear is engaged, by the backup lights in the tail lights, and possibly by the license plate lights emitting scattered light. However, with current configurations, especially based on the design that is used, backup lights are tending to be smaller, and as a result, they provide only a small amount of light at the rear of the vehicle. For vehicles that are equipped with camera systems, providing sufficient illumination is a problem. In most vehicles that have an installed backup camera, the amount of light provided is frequently no longer adequate for recording images of sufficient quality. As a consequence, persons and/or objects behind the vehicle cannot be detected, or not in time, especially when a camera is being used.